Our House
by Melinda Burming
Summary: Jax/Tara one shot. Season two around "Fix"/"Eureka".


**A/N: I don't own the Sons, though like many, I wish I did. This is just a little story I couldn't get out of my head. It's based heavily on "Our House" by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, which will be pretty apparent after the first line if you've ever heard the song before :) I'm not sure exactly when but it takes place sometime during Season 2 after "Eureka". Enjoy!**

…

Jax couldn't help but smile as he walked into his house in the late afternoon only to find his Old Lady scurrying around. From her frustrated mutterings as she haphazardly pulled her hair into a bun, he could tell that she was obviously looking for something she had misplaced and was also running late for work.

It used to be that the clubhouse was a safe-haven for him, a place to escape to in the various stages of his life: when Thomas died, when Gemma remarried, when Tara left. But lately the shit that had been going on with Clay was choking the feelings of freedom he associated with the lot, instead serving as a constant reminder of how fucked up everything was becoming. For the first time in a long time Jax was relishing the thought of coming home to the small house Gemma encouraged him to buy after he married Wendy.

Still watching Tara from the entryway, it wasn't hard to figure out why. Her little touches around the house- a pillow here, a vase of flowers there- made it more of a home than Gemma's entire overhaul.

"Tara!" He called out a few times before her head perked up. "What's up, babe?" He asked with amusement.

"Neeta had to leave early and Abel has been cranky all afternoon- so good luck with that by the way- I have 10 minutes until I am late for work where I have an inhumane shift and I cannot find my pager!"

"The hospital still uses pagers?" Jax couldn't resist a little teasing, even amidst her rampage through the kitchen and dining room.

"Yes, if I can find mine." Peeking out from underneath a bike magazine on the coffee table, Jax spotted a piece of black plastic.

"Does it look like this?" He asked waving the pager at her as she rushed over. "Ah, ah, ah!" Jax scoffed playfully, pulling the pager out of an increasingly frustrated Tara's reach.

"Jax, come on, I don't have time…" She groaned as he sat down on the plush leather couch patting the seat beside him.

"Is some kid gonna die if you aren't there in the next fifteen minutes?" Jax asked with a sardonic and knowing smile.

"What? No, but-"

"Then you can spare five minutes." Jax pulled her down onto the couch by the wrist ignoring her stiff posture, and pulling her closer into him. After a minute his rhythmic hair stroking she began to melt into his touch. "See isn't this nice? You're sitting still and everything is good, the world isn't collapsing yet."

"Shh," She chided gently, "You're ruining the moment." It was true, he was breaking the magic. The hot Californian sun was setting and throwing bright rays of orange and yellow light into the trees that lined the backyard before cascading into the rarely used sliding glass door. Jax unknowingly let out a sigh of content as Tara nestled a bit closer into his cut, taking a deep breath of leather, cigarette and cinnamon that was uniquely him.

Life without her had been just barely manageable. The added pressure of being VP, his dismal attempt of salvaging his marriage to Wendy and the resultant child; some days it was too much, too hard for anyone to deal with. But ever since Tara came home everything seemed easier, as if just being in the same county as her acted as a balm to all of his worries. She truly was the second chance he never counted on incarnated.

"You should get going, babe, don't want to be late for work." Jax encouraged, disentangling his arms from her, propping her upwards.

"Lull me into passive compliance before shoving me towards the lion's den- nice." Tara groaned as she placed her pager in her bag and moved to the door. "I'll be home tomorrow, in a nearly comatose state, but home."

"Sounds good- and Tara!" He called as she walked out the door.

"Yeah?"

"I love you." And even though the door was closing Jax could hear the smile and affection in her voice as she spoke.

"I love you too."


End file.
